[Ace]

Hi can anybody help I want to build a barn, approximately 20 feet by 40 feet and 12 high.thinking about using telegraph poles,if anybody has any ideas it will be much appreciated

[Rosemary]

Where are you?

[goosepimple]

Hi ace, (i'm an architect) - that's a long barn and you will need intermediate supports - telegraph poles are good - trusses can be bought off the shelf relatively cheaply - best to source this out before you decide on the size, remember you don't want to kill anybody.  Your roof covering (slate / tin / timber) all have different weights and will dictate your trusses too as will the amount of snow these winters and exposure to wind (remember a lot of barn roofs have come down over the past 2 years).  You need to think about drainage / electrics / water supply ideally before you start building so you're not running your services on the face of the barn.  You can put up a barn with poles / rough wood / bits and pieces you've found but my advice would be to look at profiled agricultural buildings on the net - a neighbour nearby put up one recently for his livestock about the size you are talking and it cost around £8k all in which is about as cheap as you'll get for that size.  You may be able to do it with bits and pieces but it depends on how much time you've got.  Get a local realistic architect or a builder to come down and have a chat with you about it for an hour at their usual rate - it will be money well spent - there are so many factors to consider you really have to see the site/location - no offense, but you don't know what you don't know (if you know what I mean) and they will.  It will save you a lot of heartache and hard work (plus having to take it down if it can be seen and the planners get wind of it!).  Good luck!

[ellied]

I did something similar here but it's 15' high - needs a tractor with loader carrying round bales on a spike to get in without knocking the end trusses.. and a JCB with a high back hoe had to go in this year which was tight at that..

I also had an extension into the field behind to make a shelter and handling pens which was great but that area was uphill so the level of the leanto roof truss was only 12' and also the angle of it was too shallow a rise and collapsed after 9 years with last winter's snow   Insurance wouldn't cover it because of the "design fault" of the necessary roof angle so it's still roofless but back to operational as a handling pen as the outer gates are fine.. and finally the tractor can get in to dig it out as 12' wasn't enough.

I reckon I would have been better off with a steel constructed one at £8k from a reputable company to be honest..

[robert waddell]

i built one 30 years ago     and it is still standing 99 feet long by 24 feet wide made with BIG poles the east side was built first 33x24  no architect no engineer just an idea and youth on both our sides  a very steep sloped roof 10 feet rising to 16 feet over the 33feet length block walls up to 5feet high without anchor points just mortared onto the concrete floor it sagged a bit last year but there was no cattle in it  the insurance issue is just a get out clause to stop the forkers paying out   i have been there with them before                   they are quick at taking details and payments over the phone  once they have your money the customer can get stuffed

[MelRice]

Try costing out a carport and adding cheap garden fencing sides..it may be an option for hay storage!

[ellied]

With stable block watch for planning officials - agri buildings are one thing but equestrian ones, even just for storage.. well I bet someone will be checking up on you

[llamakevin]

I just bought a field shelter to store some hay - I bought one with skids that makes it mobile, and therefore I believe not subject to planning - it has no floor, but a few pallets down to keep bales off the floor should do it. Got one 12' * 12' and got just over 100 big "small" bales in it!

[goosepimple]

You could get permission for a temporary building (your own council will specify how long that is deemed to be). Lots of people do this to have somewhere to live or store things when they are having their 'proper' house built.  Perhaps try building it out of logs / pallets / straw bales - we have quite a few buildings on our land built from these (all without planning I  may say - they've all been here for around 15 years now and still standing beautifully).  Natural materials are aesthetically more pleasing (usually) to the council.  A roll of plastic from ebay under your roof construction will keep things dry.  In ye olden times people used to build 'sod' barns some of which still survive and are now listed.  So you never know!  One of the projects I do with my architecture students is to go around finding bits and pieces and to build a shelter from it - you get some great sculptural collage type buildings - far more interesting than a wrinkly tin shed.  Stick some turf on the roof or split straw bales and cover with chicken wire (throw some meadow grass on too - looks great in spring). Good luck ace.

[Plantoid]

See if you can locate a book called some thing like  " Farm buildings or Farm Buildings & construction   by Blacks scientific or Blackwell Scientific or similar  .......from the likes of Amazon or any other book source on the internet  such as second hand books on farming .

 They might also be advertized in farmers weekly or the small holder type of mags

 I used to have one  22 years ago and it cost a mere £9.00
 It details all sorts of useful info  like  pole barns and drainage .

Well worth the investment  for it can save you literally thousands by getting it right first time.

[Bangbang]

You could consider searching for a large caravan base, and build a storage shed on it. (no planning issues there - I think?). I always found gumtree a good source for things cheap.

good luck

Bangbang